A list of books and movies I’ve rated highly in 2024, not necessarily current year releases. Links are to my reviews. The last section lists several books that I bought which I must mention.
MOVIES
His Three Daughters
director Azazel Jacobs, starring Carrie Coon, Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen
Small Things Like These
director Tim Mielants, starring Cillian Murphy, Eileen Walsh, Emily Watson
The Taste of Things
director Anh Hung Tran, starring Juliette Binoche, Benoit Magimel, Emmanuel Salinger
BOOKS
This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud
The Hunters: Two Novellas by Claire Messud
Table for Two by Amor Towles
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
Knife: Meditations after an Attempted Murder by Salman Rushdie
The Final Curtain by Keigo Higashino
MY BEST BOOK BUYS
My favourite book purchases of the year, three at bargain prices, i.e. below $10. I was delighted to have found them, all brand new. What attracted me was first their appealing covers and one with marvellous colour art illustrations. These are examples and reasons why I’m not a Kindle user but still very much into tangible reading materials which I can hold in my hands, flip the pages, savour their content and visuals. I’ve started all of them, don’t intend to read like a page-turner, but for slow reading, or even just for looking up as reference with no pressure to read through from cover to cover. Additions to my long TBR list… come 2025.
A Writer’s Britain by Margaret Drabble, first attracted by the front photo, the feel of the special dust cover in my hands and yes, surprised to find there’s a bookmark ribbon that matched the greenery of the front design. British writers and poets and the landscape that inspired them.
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein, illustrations by Maira Kalman, who contributed numerous full-page colour art illustrations that remind me of the scenes from the movie Midnight in Paris, especially the scenes inside Gertrude Stein’s home. I’ve a feeling that the set designer Hélène Dubreuil must have used this book in her research, for the movie had made these pictures come to life.
Proust’s Duchess by Caroline Weber, the times of Proust’s Paris, and the three women who inspired him to create the Duchesse de Guermantes from his In Search of Lost Time. Extensive research with numerous notes and references.
The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper by Roland Allen, a look into the history of the notebook, including journals, field notes, commonplace book… and exploration of those belonging to geniuses and the legendary throughout time. Extensive research by the author. What attracted me was the title. No, didn’t find this on the bargain table, as this is a current year publication, a notable best book of 2024 by The New Yorker and other acclaims.
***
A Happy 2025 to all!
Ripple Effects 